Classic Rock News

Metal headlines in 2023 were dominated by the return of Metallica and the touring retirement of Ozzy Osbourne.

At the end of 2022, Metallica announced the release of 72 Seasons, their first album since 2016’s Hardwired…to Self-Destruct. To support the album, the “Enter Sandman” outfit planned the M72 World Tour, during which they’d play two shows with completely unique set lists in each city.

72 Seasons arrived in April and included the singles “Lux Æterna,” “Too Far Gone?” and the title track, all of which hit #1 on Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart. Each song off the album got its own video and was accompanied by American Sign Language interpretations.

Metallica also promoted the arrival of 72 Seasons with a weeklong residency on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!

The M72 tour kicked off in Europe shortly thereafter before coming to the U.S. in August. Openers on the trek included the reformed Pantera, Five Finger Death Punch, Mammoth WVH, Ice Nine Kills, Architects and Volbeat. Along the way, Metallica broke numerous attendance records and found themselves at the center of an adorable viral story, when a dog sneaked out of their house and ended up at an M72 show in Los Angeles.

While Metallica was tearing up the road, Ozzy Osbourne was stuck at home. The Prince of Darkness, who last played a full concert in 2018, continued to deal with a number of health issues, including undergoing numerous surgeries after suffering a fall in 2019. After postponing previously scheduled tour dates multiple times, Ozzy announced in February that he was retiring from the road.

In subsequent interviews, though, Ozzy shared that he hoped to still play one-off shows in the future. That seemed to come to fruition with the announcement of Power Trip, a new festival from the producers of Coachella and a metal-themed sequel to 2016’s stacked Desert Trip.

The initial Power Trip lineup included Ozzy and Metallica, as well as AC/DC playing their first show with vocalist Brian Johnson since 2016, Guns N’ Roses, Iron Maiden and Tool. However, Ozzy soon dropped off the bill, citing his health, and was replaced by Judas Priest.

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President Barack Obama has come out with his annual list of his favorite music of 2023, with Lenny Kravitz earning one of the coveted spots. 

Kravitz makes the list for his tune “Road to Freedom” from the movie Rustin, which was produced by Barack and Michelle Obama‘s Higher Ground production company. The film tells the story of Bayard Rustin, an African American civil and gay rights leader who helped organize the March on Washington.

The tune has already been recognized with Golden Globe and Critics Choice Awards nominations, and is on the short list for an Oscar nomination.  

Kravitz fans, which apparently includes Obama, are about to get even more new music from the rocker. He’ll release the new album Blue Electric Light on March 15, with the album’s first single, “TK421,” out now.

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Queen + Adam Lambert spent part of 2023 on the road touring the U.S. on their Rhapsody Tour. For Brian May and Roger Taylor, the live experience certainly has changed since the ’70s and ’80s when they were touring with Freddie Mercury.

In this week’s episode of the band’s weekly YouTube series, Queen the Greatest Live, the two Rock & Roll Hall of Famers discuss how their live show has evolved, and share some of the biggest differences between shows today and those of the past.

“The reaction is very similar to what it used to be,” May says. But he notes mobile phones have changed the concert experience, because audiences of the past “would just be there, their whole selves interacting in mind and body and eyes and ears.” He adds, “It’s not like that now. Everybody has this urge to kind of immortalize stuff. So, when you look out, you see almost as many mobile phones as people, which is weird.”

May says all that recording has taken away some of the magic because “there’s nothing secret anymore,” and fans can easily go online to see highlights of what the band has done at previous shows. 

Roger adds that modern technology has its benefits, though, noting that lights aren’t as hot as they once were, plus, “you’ve got these wonderful screens, which are getting better every year.”

“It’s possible to do amazing things with them,” he says. 

But while some artists will use technology to have all their lights preset and ready to go,  Brian says Queen still has people “pushing the buttons in time with us, feeling what we’re doing.”

He notes, “It makes it a truly live show.”

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On This Day, December 29, 1985 …

Billy Joel became a father when he and his wife, model Christie Brinkley, welcomed daughter Alexa Ray, the only child they had together.

Their daughter’s middle name was a tribute to legendary musician Ray Charles, who Billy had collaborated with on the 1987 song “Baby Grand.” Joel later wrote the 1993 song “Lullabye (Goodnight, My Angel)” for Alexa. 

Alexa followed in her father’s footsteps as a musician and released the EP Sketches in 2006, along with several other singles.

Joel went on to welcome two more daughters with his fourth wife, Alexis Roderick; Della Rose was born in August 2015 and Remy Anne in October 2017.  

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A special featuring highlights from the 2023 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will air Monday, January 1, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

The star-studded event took place in November in Brooklyn, New York. Among the inductees were Elton John‘s songwriting partner Bernie Taupin, Chaka Khan, R&B group The Spinners, the late George Michael, country icon Willie Nelson, “Running Up that Hill” singer Kate Bush, Sheryl Crow, rapper Missy Elliott and rockers Rage Against the Machine. 

Highlights of the show included: Stevie Nicks and guitar legend Peter Frampton teaming up with Sheryl for her hit “Everyday Is a Winding Road”; a surprise appearance by Jimmy Page, who performed a tribute to late guitar legend and Musical Influence inductee Link Wray; and an all-star rendition of The Band‘s “The Weight” in memory of the late Robbie Robertson.

Elton was also on hand to induct Taupin: He sang “Tiny Dancer” and surprised the audience by announcing he and Bernie recently completed a new album. 

Other highlights of the night included Maroon 5‘s Adam Levine performing “Faith” as part of a tribute to George Michael that also included R&B star Miguel singing “Careless Whisper” and Carrie Underwood belting out “One More Try”; Chaka Khan teaming up with Sia for her hits ”I’m Every Woman” and “I Feel For You”; and New Edition performing a medley of tunes by The Spinners.

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A Bruce Springsteen tour after a seven-year absence was something fans were celebrating — until his stomach had other ideas. 

– In February, Springsteen and the E Street Band kicked off their first tour since 2016 in Tampa, with a show that had Bruce exploring loss and mortality. 

– The show included several songs off 2020’s Letter to You, as well as lots of old favorites, like “Rosalita,” “Born to Run” and “Dancing in the Dark,” and deeper cuts like “Kitty’s Back” and “E Street Shuffle.”

– While the shows received critical praise, some fans were left disappointed because unlike previous tours, the set each night remained mostly unchanged with the exception of one or two songs. 

– Fans also continued to be upset over the high ticket prices, with the organizers of longtime Springsteen fanzine Backstreets even announcing their decision to shut down over the issue.

– The tour also had to deal with COVID-19, with some shows going on without an E Street member and others postponed or canceled outright due to illness.

– After the first leg ended, Bruce brought the trek to Europe and the U.K., which included headlining British Summertime Hyde Park in London, a show attended by celebrities like Peter Gabriel, Jon Bon Jovi and Billy Joel. 

– The tour returned to the U.S. in August with Springsteen playing stadium gigs, but he had to postpone several shows due to illness.  

– Then, after a triumphant three-night stand in his home state of New Jersey, things took a turn, with The Boss announcing in early September he was postponing the month’s remaining shows to recover from peptic ulcer disease.

– By the end of the month, Springsteen had announced the postponement of the rest of the 2023 tour in order to have more time to recover.

– The shows were eventually rescheduled for 2024, with the new dates kicking off March 19 in Phoenix. He also announced a 2024 European leg of the tour.

Also in 2023 …

– Springsteen’s debut album, Greetings From Asbury Park, N.J., as well as The Wild, The Innocent and the E Street Shuffle, celebrated their 50th anniversaries.

– In March, President Joe Biden honored Springsteen at the White House with the National Medal of Arts.

– New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy declared The Boss’ birthday, September 23, Bruce Springsteen Day in the Garden State.

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The Beatles’ final song, “Now and Then,” has made it on to Variety’s list of the best songs of 2023. 

The track, which was released in November, lands at #32. Variety acknowledged that the tune was bound to be controversial, due to Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr using an old tape of John Lennon’s voice, but they still see the good in it.

“The idea of Paul McCartney creating with his old frenemy in his headphones is touching enough,” they write. “But moral, ethical or nostalgic issues aside, the song is just lovely … which is all the justification anyone needs in this world.”

Also making the list is Paul Simon at #44 with “The Lord,” from his album Seven Psalms; Elvis Costello and Burt Bacharach‘s “You Can Have Her” from the Songs of Bacharach & Costello box set at #50; and Peter Gabriel’s i/o track “And Still” at #52.

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Elton John may no longer have a farewell tour to occupy his time, but he’s got plenty of other projects to keep him busy.

In his special year-end message to members of his Rocket Club fan community, Elton reveals that the new album he mentioned during the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony will be out in 2024.

Elton and his songwriting partner Bernie Taupin collaborated on the new LP, which will be his first new solo studio album since 2016’s Wonderful Crazy Night. In 2021 he released the collaborative album The Lockdown Sessions, which featured him singing with everyone from Stevie Nicks to Stevie Wonder to Lil Nas X.

Elton also says that a documentary will be coming in 2024. While he didn’t give any additional information, this might be the film that was first announced in 2022 as a Disney+ project called Goodbye Yellow Brick Road: The Final Elton John Performances And the Years That Made His Legend.

In addition, Elton mentioned that he’ll host his annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Oscar viewing party on March 10 and that he plans to relaunch his stage musical version of The Devil Wears Prada. It debuted in Chicago in 2022 to poor reviews and was presumably sent back to the drawing board.

Concluding his message, Elton gave a special shout-out to his fans, saying, “The greatest thing about this year has been you guys, who’ve supported me, come to the shows, bought the records, and keep flying the Elton John name very, very highly.”

“I can’t thank you enough … i will be in touch next year!”

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Heart’s Nancy Wilson wants fans to know that she and her sister and bandmate Ann Wilson are in a good place.

There has certainly been drama between the sisters, though — in 2016 Ann’s husband was arrested for assaulting Nancy’s teenage son. But Nancy scoffs at any suggestion that she and Ann are at odds.

“The first question a lot of people have always asked either of us, me or Ann, has been ‘Do you guys fight?’ Like sibling rivalry. They’re hoping that we say yes,” she tells The Seattle Times. “At one point, we even thought about staging a fight just to satisfy the, what is now like, the haters on social media — like everybody has to take sides all the time.”

She adds, “But in my case, having Ann as my sister and having done music with her since I was born basically, it’s a good thing.”

Nancy does say being in a band with family can be “emotionally challenging,” but, she adds, “That’s where you kinda have to think bigger and you have to be a bigger human around it all and learn how to be really forgiving and take the high road.”

Heart is set to headline a homecoming show at Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena on New Year’s Eve, and it sounds like we may soon be getting new music from the band as well.  

“Yeah. We’ve done a couple things in the can and I’ve also worked along with Sue Ennis, who did a lot of Heart songwriting with me and Ann in the past,” she says. “I’ve got a bunch of new stuff with Sue that I’ve been working on.”

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Two drawings by Dave Grohl raised over $14,000 for charity.

As previously reported, the pieces are called “How to Make a DIY Beer Bong” and “How to Sneak Hash into a Concert,” both of which illustrate exactly what its title promises. Grohl created the drawings backstage before Foo Fighters‘ headlining set at New Jersey’s Sea.Hear.Now festival in September and was inspired by the event’s “prohibited items” signs.

Proceeds from the auction will be donated to various local charities. “Beer Bong” brought in $7,301, while the winning bidder for “How to Sneak Hash” paid $6,851.

In between making drawings for charity, Grohl had a busy 2023 releasing and touring behind a new Foo Fighters album, But Here We Are. The band’s 2024 schedule includes a U.S. stadium tour, which launches in July.

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